A few questions from FTM

penny624 · July 2016

Hi! Longgg time lurker here and a FTM needing some advice and suggestions on a few things!

DS is 5 weeks, 1 day and has been a wonderful, happy baby...usually only crying when he is hungry or dirty. As first time parents, DH and I have been able to manage pretty well so far, even through the overwhelming times which typically happen during the night. So far, DS has been sleeping in 1.5 and 3 hours intervals, and with few exceptions, he is pretty easy to change, nurse, and then put back to sleep.

First thing: Right now, he is sleeping while swaddled in a rock n play, but he started breaking free of a tight swaddle. If he doesn't wake up from him pooping (which is usually the thing that wakes him up), he will wake himself up when his arms break free. It also makes me nervous to have the blanket not securely wrapped around him. We received a HALO swaddle sack from a shower, and we used that for the first and last time last night. While it was good for awhile if he wasn't moving, if he starts wiggling, the wings will move up towards his face and bunch up around his little mouth and nose. Obviously, I'm not going to use it anymore. Does anyone have any other suggestions/solutions to what we could do as another alternative? He has a hard time settling without the swaddle and will continually wake himself up with his jerky arm movements. He doesn't sleep for long periods of time yet either, so the idea that he could wake himself up even more frequently is an overwhelming one.

Second thing: We have him sleeping in a rock n play right now because he does not like his pack n play at all. We've been trying to work it into his naptime, but he hates it and will wake up within minutes, swaddled or not. I've looked this issue up on the internet, and I know its an issue for a lot of people so thats why we want to make the switch sooner rather than later, but it already feels hopeless. We have tried putting the pack n play surface at a slight incline, but that made no difference either. This is the top thing giving me the most anxiety because I'm worried about the next few months when we try to get him to sleep in his crib. Any advice/tips from anyone who has gone through this? Its already stressing me out more than it probably should.

HeartLikeMine3 · July 2016

Our LO was also getting too strong and breaking free of her swaddles. Buy swaddle me they have Velcro and they cannot escape them.
My DS would only sleep in the rock and play as well I think he did until about 3 months. They like it because it feels snug like they are being held not like a wide open space. I wouldn't stress yourself out too much we all have habits we will have to break with our newborns but you have to get the sleep you can as long as LO is safe. I would just keep trying pack in play for naps and reassess in a couple weeks you have time. He may be fine with it in a month.

splsmama2016 · July 2016

1) look into a swaddle sack that zips or velcros. SwaddleMe brand has zip up swaddle pods, and so does Woombie. Im not a fan of the velcro swaddles because they're noisy when all you want is to change a dirty diaper without waking LO up completely.

2) we started her in her RnP too. We transitioned out of it slooooowly because she hated her crib, but I wanted her in the nursery. We started by not turning it on at all (we have an auto-rocking one) and doing short naps in her crib or PnP. We also make sure to have two blankets rolled up tight right against her body, since the RnP kind of snuggles her little body.

Hope some of this helps a little!

lm45678 · July 2016

We have Aden & Anais sleep sacks that snap so they are hard to break free from.

Maybe try a bassinet that is a little more snug then a pack and play? We use the bassinet that comes with our stroller and attaches to the stand (UppaBaby). There is also a snuggle nest co-sleeper that's smaller that you could try in the pack and play.

vintagevix2016 · July 2016

FTM so I don't know how much help I will be...

Swaddling: Could you use a sleepsack/bag and not put his arms through the arm holes? He couldn't wiggle free since they're zipped.

Rock-n-Play: The rnp could have a more enclosed feel toh him that makes him feel secure, whereas the crib, bassinet, pack-n-play are more open and he feels lost in them. Maybe getting something like the DockATot to go in the crib or pack-n-play would make the transition easier.

I'm talking outta my ass here so I don't know if any of the above is useful. Just thought I'd share my ideas for what they are worth.

Edit: @laurenm2123 beat me to it

wbwells · July 2016

Look into the love to dream swaddle up. It's a swaddle sack that zips but has their hands positioned by their face so they can still run their face/eyes etc to self soothe, but it isn't so loose that their startle reflex wakes them up.

Im no help with the rock n play, ours hates it and prefers to sleep flat, sometimes in the pack n play but usually in bed with us

arteduc8 · July 2016

I posted a month or so ago about swaddles because of the same issue. Use the search function and see if you can find it, lots of good advice. We found DD just didn't like being swaddled and her startle reflex didn't wake her, so we just started putting her in the open bottom sleepers with the fold over hands. FYI my DD got the velcro wings of her swaddle me over face too as well as the halo. I would have tried the zip up ones next if she needed swaddling.

We have the newborn napper attachment that she sleeps in on her pack n play. Due to her reflux she didn't do well in the flat bassinet part. The napper has a slight incline.

violetmarie61516 · July 2016

We hated the HALOs, they had them in the NICU and she would always have it bunch up. They just aren't made for infants IMO. We LOVE the Swaddle Me brand. They have a few different styles and sizes to fit properly. Our LO sticks her hands out the bottom but we can still get her to stay snuggled in it. She too wakes if she's not swaddled.

As for the RnP, I'm no help. We went right to the crib and never looked back. She's done wonderful and LOVES her crib.

mdargie · July 2016

I second the love to dream or woombie swaddles, pretty much impossible to break free from. DS sleeps in his pnp at night, rnp for morning naps and crib for afternoon naps. He loves the halo sleep sacks at night but during the day I just use a swaddle me or regular blanket. This is because he spits up copiously and i have to make use of every swaddle I have and then I still run out

anyway pony is, I have noticed unless he is in the woombie, no matter what he's swaddled in, it will always bunch up by his face if he's in the rnp. I don't know why exactly but it is irritating. For transitioning to the pnp I would maybe try rolling up a receiving blanket and making a u shape under the fitted sheet, kind of under his butt, might make him feel a little more secure and is likely still safe at this point since he's not rolling over or moving around a ton. Then he can gradually get used to it. You could also try the quilted pnp sheet from graco, to me the pnp seems really hard. I know their bedding should be firm but his crib is nice and firm and the pnp by contrast is like super firm. The quilted sheet won't make it too soft but just adds a little layer that makes it a tad more comfortable.

ashleygray89 · July 2016

My son sleeps in his car seat as awful as it sounds. The first 2 weeks he slept wonderful In a rocking craddle,but that stopped as he was waking every 2 hrs and taking 2 hrs to get him back down. We tried the swing it worked for a bit but now he will only sleep in his car seat.. I've tried laying him down he wakes up .. he gets a 6 Oz warm bottle with a cereal based formula and he's out anywhere from 5 to 7 hrs. But now my 5week old is awake all day with the exception of a 2 to 3 hrs nap.. we also don't swaddle. I leave his arms out and just tuck his blanket around him and he's been fine.. it's hard but you just have to experiment with things and do whatever works...

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